


When The Tunnel Caves In (and My Little Light Guides Me)

by RodimusPrime036



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Solus Simping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28066410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RodimusPrime036/pseuds/RodimusPrime036
Summary: Split second actions lead to panicking Ghosts. Solus cries, Marksman dies, and together, the two communicate.(Also including; other one-shots that aren't just fluff.)
Relationships: Ghost/Guardian (Destiny)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

If there was one group Marksman hated most, it would have been the hive. Their tunnels ran deep into the surface of the moon, dimly lit and difficult to navigate. He prowled the caves, taking out the creatures that hunted within and grumbling to himself as their calls echoed off the walls. He'd have rather been on Earth, or even Nessus, preferring the light of the sun over the oppressing darkness here on the moon, deep within the caves, where even the endless spattering of stars couldn't guide him. At the very least, they were nearly finished with their quest; this one had been easy, merely taking out a growing infestation to thin the hoard, then reporting back to Eris with any information on the Darkness  _ or _ the hive.

Solus lights the way, hovering quietly beside Marksman's head and casting their path in a gentle glow. They're going  _ up _ now, at least, loose rubble crunching under his heavy boots with each step, the gentle pattering of pebbles bouncing down the incline the only sound behind them. Or, at least, it  _ should _ have been the only sound. Marksman can see the opening to the cave at the end of the cavern, can see the endless expanse of stars, minimized into the tiny window in the cave opening- then he  _ hears it. _ A loud, thunderous crash of footsteps just behind him. He hardly has time to turn before the cave is suddenly alive with sound and-

The knight swings down at the same time his shotgun blasts into its midsection. A moment too late; the sword connects with the crook of his neck and tears down, at such an angle that it carves through the metal and causes the arm holding the shotgun to separate from his chest. The pain it should cause is numbed by the shock,  _ and Marksman is fairly certain that he  _ **_shouldn't_ ** _ be able to see his arm on the floor,  _ and Solus is making a terribly shrill sound of surprise beside him. The knight crumbles with a spray of chitin and whatever else made up a hive, but the sounds don't stop. He feels impossibly slow as he turns towards the sounds, vision unfocused despite his crystal clarity. His way out is blocked by cursed thrall- they dig out of the rubble, the air flooded with their piercing cries and clattering rocks. He focuses, sudden understanding breaking through as Solus spoke nervously by his head. "Guardian, we need to move- I can't heal you here-" and they are closer now, (and he knows that he cannot get through them. He knows that when they explode, they will take the tunnel down with them. He knows that Solus is in danger, and he knows he is going to die here.) 

"Solus," he calls, surprised by his own calmness. The ghost twists to look at him, his plees for movement falling silent. "It'll be okay." Marksman says, and then curls his hand around the little light's shell. "I'm sorry," he adds, and Solus doesn't get to speak before Marksman draws his arm back and throws the ghost as hard as he can, out into the window of starlight, into the safety of the light outside the tunnel. The first thrall explodes, and he hears the ceiling and walls shake, the violent vibrations throwing off his already slanted balance. Rubble rains down the roof, clattering noisily off his helmet, and he sighs as he lays back, closing his eyes to the sound of crashing rock and exploding thrall. 

•°•°•°•°•°•

Solus barely manages to catch himself to soften the landing of hitting the ground. He tumbles a few times, stirring up a trial of lunar soil before he skitters to a stop. It takes  _ too long _ for him to get up again, twisting around to face the entrance of the cave- or… where the entrance  _ should _ have been. A thick cloud of dust surrounds a new pile of rubble, rocks skipping away as the remaining vibrations faded and the stones settled. "Guardian?" He calls, floating quickly towards the pile and poking through the rocks. (It is so similar to the time before he had found the exo-  _ so similar to searching rubble, to running from gunshots as he scanned through plants and dirt, to peering into twisted metal and nudging rocks aside. He never wants to be Guardian-less again.)  _ Perhaps that is why desperation edges in his shell, his thoughts coiling with dread as he scanned faster through the rocks.  _ There is no response, there is no life detected, there is no movement of his Guardian dragging himself from the rubble.  _ And Solus is  **_afraid._ ** He calls into the mess for a few more moments, attempts to use his shell to shove the rock out of the way, then sends a distress signal out- he needs  _ help, _ his Guardian is down there somewhere and he needs  _ help- _

He doesn't keep track of how long it takes to get a response. Terrible fear has taken over his shell- wild desperation that causes him to furiously shove at rocks. (They don't move, not much, but he can't stop, can't stop until he finds something,  _ anything-  _ "This is Ember, with Strider. We picked up your call, what's going on?" Her voice shakes the ghost out of his focus, and he jerks slightly before the words make sense. "Ember! Yes, yes, I need help," there is no progress to moving the rocks. His shell sinks, dented and battered from the rocks. "I can't- Marksman is down here somewhere and I can't get to him." He takes a breath, and despite how unneeded it is, it helps soothe the panic enough for him to send his location. "There was a cave-in, I'm not picking anything up, I can't get him out." 

It doesn't take long before Strider and Ember transmat into sight. The titan's expression is hidden behind his helmet, but Ember zips quickly beside the other ghost and speaks warmly. "Strider will find him, don't worry. I think it'd take more than some rocks to separate those two." Her attempt at humor does little to ease Solus' nerves, but Strider doesn't give him time to sulk. "Looks like a fine mess he's gotten himself into this time, huh?" The Awoken mutters, grips one of the larger chunks of moon and tears it away from the pile. (Solus held a silent awe for the strength of titans, and is reminded of this as he watches the Guardian haul the stone aside with frightening ease.) The ghost sinks slowly, rests on the dirt and heaves another strangled breath. Ember follows suit; settles beside him, leaning gently against his shell, offering quiet companionship as the titan worked. "It'll be okay," she soothes again, tone calm and even. "You got out of there, once we find him you can revive him, and go see the lights in the city again." 

It takes exactly nine minutes and twenty-three seconds of Strider tossing rocks before he speaks again. "I got something," he announces, starts lugging the stone faster and tossing rubble aside. Solus is there in a moment, hovering anxiously by the titan's shoulder and staring into the pile of grey. Yes-  _ yes, _ that was  _ armor _ , glittering white in places, caved and scratched and layered in dust, and Solus gives a sound like a sob as Strider begins prying the bigger rocks off the fallen exo. Solus feels…  _ powerless,  _ at the sight of his Guardian. Relief floods his shell, yes, but underlying fear still twists at his mind. He could have  _ lost  _ the titan, lost him to the dark tunnels of the moon- 

Strider leans down, gripping at the front of Marksman's chestplate and heaving him out of the remaining rock. Dust and pebbles bounce back to the ground, and the exo is deadweight in Strider's arms as he treks out of the pile and back onto steadier ground. The Guardian is hardly recognizable; both due to missing everything attached to his left shoulder, and the battered remains of his armor. Everything below one leg is crunched into an unrecognizable mess, his armor coated in scratches and dents ranging from the size of pebbles to softballs. His helmet is dented in on one side, ( _ Solus desperately hopes that whatever killed him got it over with fast, _ ) and there is no reading of life when Solus scans him. "Damn," Strider huffs as he heaves the other titan down onto the dirt. "It's weird seeing…  _ him, _ like this." Solus understands; the exo had taught the Awoken after he was revived, had been a solid companion and mentor.  _ The ghost feels sick, staring down at his silent Guardian. He feels so, terribly sick.  _ "I'll, ah, let you do your thing." Strider sounds uneasy- likely sharing in Solus' emotions at the sight of the exo,- and the ghost gives a motion like a nod, paying little attention as the Awoken and Ember made their way to pick through the rubble. 

He settles just above the Guardian, exhaling out a sigh before his shell opened like a flower. Light, a soft shade of blue, softly enveloped the Guardian. Solus focuses, focuses on returning the exo to full health, on repairing his armor and bringing him back- and startles when Marksman jerks awake as though he's been electrocuted. "Solus-" the exo thrashes his head, seeming uncertain and frightened, and Solus speaks quickly. "Guardian, I'm here, you're safe," Marksman whips his head up, pries at his helmet until he can drag it off and suck in heavy breaths. (His cheeks spew dust with each breath, vents rough and voice gravelly.) "You made it." It's a statement, his tone so terribly relieved as he reached out to cradle the ghost. "That was stupid," Solus' voice wavers, thick and shaking, and Marksman crooned softly. "You had to get out of there. I knew you'd save me again." He explains, now that his breathing has settled and his eyes have focused. The exo was no stranger to dying, to being killed and revived both in actual combat and in crucible. He'd never been killed like  _ that _ before, never had to cradle his trembling ghost after being revived. (He chose not to count his fall from the tower with Ghaul- he hadn't  _ died _ then, even if it had ended with him gently squeezing his ghost until the little light stopped shaking.)

"What if I didn't find you?"

"But you did _." _

__ "But what if I  _ didn't-?" _

"But you  _ did." _

Marksman's tone is firm, and he raises the ghost to inspect the damage done to his shell with a dark expression. "What hurt you?" Solus shakes his shell, squirms out of his hands to nuzzle feverishly into the titan's face and taking a moment to breathe.  _ His Guardian was alive, he wasn't alone again, Marksman was alright. " _ Nothing  _ hurt _ me- help took too long, I needed to- I couldn't find you." He finally settles on saying, reveling in the feeling of his  _ very much alive  _ Guardian's fingers coming to rest on his flippers as the exo softly returned the affection. "You found me," he soothes, voice a soft rumble. "I'm here now." 

And Solus gives another choked sort of sob, and let's his Guardian cradle him against his chest in soft comfort. "You're fine now, little light," he says, (a promise, gentle assurance, a reminder.) "I'm here, and I'm not planning any more tunnel trips." His humor isn't appreciated, judging by Solus' dry " _ haha, very funny." _ The quiet doesn't last long, before Solus speaks again, soft and wobbly. "I can't lose you, Marksman," (and Marksman startles slightly at the use of his name.) "Today was- that was  _ scary. _ I couldn't find you, I was  _ alone again-" _ the titan hushes him softly when he gives another whimper, yellow eyes slanted in an unreadable emotion. "I'm… sorry, beloved." He offers softly. "I couldn't risk you getting hurt. I couldn't bring you back if something happened to you, not like you can do to me." He shakes his head slowly. "I would die a thousand times over if it meant I could keep you safe." 

"I don't  _ want _ you to die!" Solus cries, and Marksman falls quiet. "I know I can bring you back, and it's our job, with you as a Guardian and me as your ghost- but I don't want to watch you to die. You're everything to me." He quiets quickly, aware that he is trembling violently in his Guardian's hands. "Oh, Solus…" Marksman sighs, gaining a distant look to his expression. "The Light of my life, my purpose, my soul," (the sappy nicknames certainly should  _ not _ make Solus feel as good as they do. That doesn't change the undeniable lightness that floods his shell _. _ ) "I can't promise you I'll never die again, and we both know I can't stop being a Guardian. I'll be more careful for you, alright? You were so brave today, and I'm sorry for scaring you."

Solus doesn't get to respond- Strider speaks, boots crunching as he approaches. "I hate to interrupt, but you two'll start kissing or something for the next two hours if I don't." His tone is playful, and Solus gives an indignant sound. "We would  _ not- _ " "Shhh, hush now little ghost. I vote we get off this rock, maybe go get something to eat. Moving rocks is exhausting, isn't it, Solus?" He seems to grin at the ghost, gesturing broadly to his shell. "'Side's, willing to bet Marksman has seven other shells on the ship for ya until he gets that one fixed up." 

The entire trip back to Eris, Solus never leaves Marksman's hands. ( _ This was  _ **_his_ ** _ Guardian, his purpose, his Light, and he wouldn't risk letting him disappear again.) _


	2. Squishing Arachnids

Solus is afraid.

Marksman had nearly died,  _ again _ , but never any less nerve wracking, and in the time it had taken to try and heal him, Solus was trapped in four hands and being escorted off. He had yelped, far more startled than afraid then, (and Marksman had struggled to stand, had made a sound so frightened and disoriented it had caused Solus to flail his shell furiously in his captors hands to try and soothe the Guardian,)- and then he was shoved into an odd cage and being toted off along the shore. " _ Marksman!"  _ He had cried, (and the cage bars sizzled with energy, and they hurt when they touched his shell, so he huddled in the middle and tried to avoid being jostled into the painful walls.) The Fallen carrying him seemed pleased with itself, chattering and leering down at him while it ran, and Solus cringes as he hears Marksman's shouts fade the further away they get. (And Solus is afraid.) 

He keeps track of how long the Fallen runs- (thirteen minutes and fourteen seconds before it settled into a walk, twenty-two minutes and forty-nine seconds and counting since it began walking. There is a total of thirty-six minutes and three seconds between now and the last time he saw his Guardian.  _ His Guardian had been injured, he needed to go back, he had to heal him, he would die without him-)  _ and Solus whimpers, and shrinks in on himself even more when the bars scorch against his shell. It doesn't take long for him to place where they're going, once he doesn't need to focus on avoiding the cage. They had been attacked in the Tangled Shore, and had been traveling along the barren side of the shore in the beginning. Now, he recognized the plants, the buildings and the cliffs, and the symbol of the  _ Spider _ . Oh,  _ oh.  _ This must have been one of Spider's Fallen, most likely attempting to earn his good graces by catching a Ghost. (It makes Solus shudder, the memory of all the fallen ghosts strung like ornaments through the nest.) "Hey!" He cries, shrill and indignant. "Hey, Spider knows my Guardian! You're gonna be in trouble when he finds out what you did!"  _ He hopes. _ The Eliskni either doesn't care, or doesn't understand; it shakes his cage and gives a chattering laugh when he yelps and flinches as the bars hiss and pop on contact with his shell. It scrambles down the halls of the nest, bursting into the Spider's lair and waving Solus around like a trophy. (He has been away from his Guardian for forty-seven minutes and three seconds.) Spider startled, grunting as he propped himself up in his seat and chattered down at the smaller Eliksni, harsh and irritated- then he seemed to notice the ghost. For a moment, they stare at each other; Spider blinks all of his eyes, and Solus gives a harsh, shrill chirp. " _ Spider!" _ (He is angry, and afraid, and he does not feel safe here, not without his Guardian.) " _ My _ Guardian is hurt out there,  _ your _ Fallen kidnapped me, and just you wait until he gets here!" His false bravado seems to amuse the Spider, who gives a low, wheezing laugh. "Well, aren't  _ you  _ a spitfire little morsel?" He replies, and Solus feels sick. "He- he'll kill you if you try to hurt me!" He shouts, and the Spider snatches the cage, ignoring how Solus yelps when he makes contact with the walls. "And  _ who,  _ pray tell, is your Guardian?" (And Solus is afraid, afraid _ , afraid,  _ and he realizes now that Marksman had never let him see the ghost, and he is suddenly aware of how much danger he is in-) 

"Solus?" 

Glint's voice startled him out of his growing panic, and the Spider snarled softly. "Glint!" He cries, harsh and distraught, "Glint, Marksman is hurt, I need out of here-" Crow's head peers around the corner, concern written in the way his brow furrows and his lips tilt into a frown. "The Guardian is hurt?" (And now,  _ now  _ Spider looks just a little uneasy. Solus knew that most who met Marksman feared him, he was a powerful ally and a frightening foe, and Solus pleased mentally for the black market owner to see reason. It has been fifty-nine minutes and forty-four seconds.) "Ah, it seems my  _ associate  _ has made an… ill-fated decision. I suppose, if this is,  _ the _ Guardian we're talking about, I may be willing to do…  _ business,  _ to return you to him." Solus sputters- " _ Business?!"-  _ but it seemed his indignant cry fell on deaf ears, because the Eliskni pried the cage open and snagged the ghost with two hands, rough and uncomfortable. (His hands are sixteen degrees colder than Marksman's, and it has been one hour, three minutes, and two seconds.) "You don't  _ understand-  _ I have to get to him, he's  _ hurt!"  _ (And Spider doesn't care, and Crow looks guilty when Spider denies him asking to find the exo, and Glint gives him an assuring little bob of his shell. "He's a strong exo!" Glint encourages, and Solus fears he doesn't understand. "I know he'll figure out where you are!" Then, over the comms, soft and private,  _ [I'm going to try and get ahold of him to let him know you're here.]  _ And Solus is relieved, but he is still afraid.) 

It takes three hours, twelve minutes, and eleven seconds before a wall of fire and Fallen chitin erupt into the room. Spider gives a startled grunt as he jerks away from the flames, the smoke rising to the ceiling, the thunderous steps echoing down the corridor.  _ And there he was. _ His Guardian, dragging the Fallen who had snatched him along behind him, a wave of heat and  _ fury _ that makes his shell feel too big as he tried to shrink down. " _ Spider!" _ (And his voice is guttural, raw and furious, burning coals and roaring flames, and he is trembling with his rage, and Solus has never feared his Guardian, but he can see why one might call him frightening.) " _ You, _ have something, of  _ mine,"  _ he spits, and the room is burning, hot, hot,  _ hotter,  _ and smoke still licks the walls. (And he is leaned heavily to the left, and Solus can see the internal fluid oozing over his armor and evaporating under the heat, and when he scans over his frame there are so many other little injuries, and he cannot imagine how painful the entire trip here must have been, and despite his wonderful relief, there is terrible anger and underlying fear.) 

Spider seems a bit uncertain, fingers digging into Solus' shell until he yelps as the metal warps- and Marksman  _ snarls, _ throws the Fallen to the floor and sends a blast from his shotgun in its midsection, spattering the Spider in chitin and sticky blood, and he uses the other shell to send a guard to the floor. "I'll  _ kill you,"  _ he hisses, reloading the gun, and a shell slips through his fingers and clatters to the floor. "Now," Spider's wheezing voice is rushed and antsy. "Surely we can use  _ words,  _ can't we? I value our friendship, Guardian," he's trying to suck up, Solus notes with faint amusement, and it doesn't seem to be working, not as Marksman lifts his gun and levels it with the Eliskni. "You're gonna give me my ghost," he sounds as though he had swallowed glass, his voice ragged and harsh, "or I'm gonna break your skull with my own two hands." (No, Solus certainly shouldn't find  _ that _ attractive, but the mental image is certainly delightful.) 

"We can  _ talk _ about this, Guardian-" 

" _ I am going to kill you."  _ (And there is nothing in his voice but white-hot rage, but cold hatred.) Spider's grip on Solus adjusted, then he released; the ghost shot across the room, weaving around Marksman's frame to hunker into his pack- and his grip on the shotgun doesn't adjust. "If you  _ ever _ touch my ghost again, I swear on every God you  _ think  _ exists, that I am going to kill you. I don't care how deep you hide yourself, how far you run, I  _ will find you.  _ **_There will be nowhere you can go, that I won't find you._ ** You know what I'm capable of,  _ Spider,  _ and it doesn't matter how many of your little associates you try to defend yourself with, because there isn't a place in this solar system you can go that I can't get to you." (The Spider doesn't speak, because there is nothing to say. Because Marksman's feet burn into the floor, leaving red prints behind him, because he is burning so hot the paint on Solus' shell must be melting, because Crow and Glint are watching with wide eyes as Marksman steps over the fallen Eliskni and treads out of the nest.) 

Marksman makes it to their ship before he crumbles, gasping for breath and clawing at his side, where fluid still drips to the floor. Solus gasps, hovering quickly over and quickly beginning to heal his titan, murmuring apologies as he worked. Marksman's shaky fingers raised to his shell, over the black marks from the cage, over the dents from Spider's fingers, and he snarled again. (The sounds was ragged, animalistic and guttural, reverberating through his throat, made rougher as he wheezed for breath.) "I'll kill them all," he spits, his eyes the color of dancing flames, the yellow pupils small and sharp. "I'll tear them apart." (And Solus feels oddly flattered that Marksman thought him deserving of such actions, even as he rushed to soothe the exo.) "I'm okay now, beloved," he murmurs, watching as Marksman's tense body slowly relaxed as the pain subsided. "I'm okay, you were there for me, and I doubt anything like that will happen again." (The Spider wouldn't be stupid enough to let the same mistake happen twice.) Marksman grabs his shell in both hands, holds him close and growls, deep in his chest. "I'm sorry," he whispers suddenly, softly, "I let you get hurt. I was… _weak,_ when I promised to keep you safe." Solus cringed, furiously spinning his shell and speaking firmly. "You were _not!_ " He exclaimed, and Marksman startled at his volume. "You _saved_ me, you walked for over _three hours_ in _this_ state, and you _certainly_ left a message Spider won't forget." He trembles in Marksman's hands, anger and remaining fear fighting in his tone. "And I- I was so _worried_ about you. About you not- not getting here, and me not being able to find you-" (and Marksman coos softly, and he is at least nineteen degrees hotter than usual, and he cradled his hands around his shell and curled his sore body around the ghost, and held him on the floor of their ship.) "There's not a single thing on any planet that would keep me from you," he says, a promise. "And if anyone tries to keep you from me, I will _annihilate them."_ His voice drops from a coo to a growl, from sickly sweet to harsh and dangerous- for _him._ (And it is terrifyingly exhilarating to know that Marksman would be so frightening for him, that he was so openly furious for _him._ And he knows how much his Guardian loves him, but it is still thrilling to see it in person.) "I know you will," he agrees, watching as Marksman ran a finger through the liquid on the floor. (It is thick, a reddish-black color that stains his armor, and Solus _hates it._ And he pretends not to notice the way Marksman's hand trembles even without the wounds, the way he stares down at Solus as though he is something so terribly precious that he had nearly lost, pretends that he doesn't know how _scared_ Marksman had been without him. He had been afraid, too, but at least Glint and Crow had been keeping an eye on him. Marksman had been alone, injured, and most likely fighting to get here- _for_ ** _him._** Of course he had been frightened.) 

He doesn't keep track of how long they sit on the floor. Marksman's temperature gradually drops to normal, he refuses to release the ghost, and Solus doesn't bother trying to move. (The best comfort to Marksman was always just touching Solus, and he had no arguments to being held.) "My love?" He prompts after a moment, quiet and careful. "We ought to get cleaned up, hm? You're covered in ash and," he doesn't want to finish that, (because he should have been there before the artificial blood even got that bad.) "And I don't want you staining the bed." (It is a weak finisher, but Marksman laughs softly, drags himself to his feet and tries not to focus on the damages to Solus' shell.) "Alright, alright, I get it, you don't need me getting your pillow dirty," he pauses a moment, slanting his eyes. "Wait,  _ I'm _ your pillow-" (and Solus giggles, chirps and clicks, and the mood feels lighter already.) " _ Exactly _ . Now go clean up while I find a comfy shell." 

(And it takes been one hour, fourteen minutes, and three seconds until his Guardian hits the little ship bed, until he curls around Solus like a cat with a ball of yarn, and until Solus is reminded that his frightening, awe-inspiring Guardian is little more than an overprotective exo that was wonderfully in love. And he is happy, and he is safe, and he will never let himself be removed from his titan again.)


End file.
